


sweet and soft

by teatales



Series: sweet and soft [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Harry Potter, Communication, Demisexual Ron Weasley, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, M/M, Mental Illness, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Professor Harry Potter, Self-Esteem Issues, Therapy, Touch-Starved, Trans Harry Potter, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-07 09:12:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18617596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teatales/pseuds/teatales
Summary: Harry realises he needs more from Ron. They talk about it after Harry's therapy session.





	sweet and soft

**Author's Note:**

> back at it again at krispy kreme folks! here, have another self-indulgent soft harry/ron fic. 
> 
> this is part one of the series of different stories im writing about harry and ron being intimate in non-sexual ways. as a person on the ace spectrum, I'm super excited to share it with y'all :) so far I'm almost done with one fic, in the middle of outlining/writing four others, and have another dozen prompts to write about. if you have anything you would like to see in particular, please feel free to comment!
> 
> i can't promise any set posting schedule. life is super hectic atm and fic writing just can't be my main priority. the series summary/my profile will be kept updated if it's going to be more than a month without updates. nothing short of the apocalypse will keep me off ao3 even when I'm not writing, so shoot me a message any time. im always here. 
> 
> also I'll pretty much be posting harry/ron from here out, so subscribe if that's what you're here for! 
> 
> enjoy,  
> t.

Harry and Ron had always been physically affectionate with one another. Even before they entered a romantic relationship, it was obvious to Ron that this tiny kid was in desperate need of some love, even if he was the so-called chosen one. Particularly as the war raged on Ron often held Harry wherever or whenever they could get away with it - down corridors, in their dorms, in the tent. Harry took to leading Ron somewhere by the hand, and snuggling into his lap late at night. Ron was as demonstrative as Harry was comfortable with, coming from a close family and a life of having others in his space. His driving desire to just take care of Harry manifested in affection and subtle, physical acts more frequently than lengthy discussions about Harry’s mental health, not for lack of trying. Harry was the opposite - his childhood neglect left him craving touch and physical reassurance in all of his close relationships, whilst not really knowing how to be looked after by someone other than himself. This meant they were well suited to one another, with Harry eagerly lapping up all the affection Ron wanted to give him, now that he knew it was okay and safe to do so.

They had been a couple for a while now, but still had been taking things relatively slow. After his mental health declined again Harry had gone back to regularly seeing his Mind Healer. Although he was still working through two decades’ worth of trauma and neglect, therapy had boosted his confidence in the relationship a great deal. This meant Harry had gotten a lot better at vocalising his needs and wants, including his desire for touch.

Taking things slow also gave the pair the opportunity to thoroughly learn what each other liked and enjoyed. Harry had come out of the other side of a series of bad relationships and was hesitant to dive into too much too soon. This, along with Ron’s demisexuality, meant that most of the touch they shared was non-sexual. Now that they knew themselves outside of the war and their past relationships, Harry and Ron had to navigate what their dynamic was as romantic partners. Even when their snogging did get heavier than usual - more often than not the pair ended up half-dressed with Harry rubbing himself off in Ron’s lap - orgasms weren’t the focus. It was about the closeness; the sharing of breaths and spaces and sounds. The vulnerability of being known, entirely, by the other person. Something neither of them had had the privilege of before.

Despite both Harry and Ron being in the best places they had ever been, the very nature of intimacy - particularly in a romantic relationship - was something neither of them had much experience with. Sure, Ron had grown up in a large family - the fact someone would be in your space at any time was a given. But besides his mum, the Weasleys weren’t of the touchy-feely emotional types that would go out of their way to be affectionate. Harry had, of course, had to learn what healthy interpersonal relationships were like much later in life, which was an ongoing journey in and of itself. Although Harry still loved tucking himself under Ron’s chin when they hugged, climbing into his lap at random times, or just holding hands whenever he liked, he somehow wanted...more. He was content, but there was always some dissatisfaction niggling at the back of his mind. This led him to bringing it up to his therapist.

“…And I know we talked about it before, but I still feel selfish for it, y’know? Wanting so much? Like, I’m a grown man, the fucking _Saviour_ or whatever, I shouldn’t need to be coddled like a small child!” Harry squeezed one of the lounge’s pillows to his chest, both as a comforting gesture and to release some of his frustration.

“Harry, what have we said about the epithets?,” Emily patiently asked him.

He huffed out a breath before reluctantly repeating the phrase he had heard all too often. “ _I shouldn’t use other people’s perspectives of me as a measure of my self worth._ ”

Emily breezed past his reluctance. “That’s right. Most people don’t know the real you, and their judgements of you are skewed by factors outside of your control,” she leant forward, focused entirely on Harry.

“Harry, everyone has different physical and emotional needs, no matter who they are or what relationships they’re in. You’ve had a rougher go of it than most, and now that your life is relatively stable, you’re seeking out the intimacy that you’ve never been allowed to explore. It’s not about who deserves what, or a matter of selfishness. It’s about what you need to thrive and be most content in yourself and your life. If for the moment you can’t accept that for yourself, don’t you at least think that’s what Ron would want for you, too?”

Harry took a moment to process the words, forcing his hands to unclench from the pillow in his lap.

“Yeah, he would. He does. He’s just,” Harry’s face broke into a goofy smile, “so great! All the time! And you know my whole burden issues want to come in and,” his face fell, “it’s hard.”

“I know, Harry. And you’re doing a wonderful job, opening up to others and myself. I’m very proud of you. You’ve achieved so much since you first came here.”

“Thanks,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting Emily’s eyes.

“I know you’re still working on compliments so in the last few minutes let’s focus back on what you brought up today. The topic of intimacy, particularly between you and Ron. You’ve said that you enjoy the level of affection you share currently, but need more, and now that you recognise that you’re not sure where to go from. Am I right so far?”

Emily did that a lot. Checking in to make sure that she was understanding Harry fully, that she wasn’t twisting his words and that he was being fully listened to. He appreciated it after a lifetime of being talked over and misinterpreted.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Well, I do have a set of worksheets here - no, Harry, this time it isn’t homework, don’t give me that look - that might be a good starting point. This one,” she said as she passed him the sheets, “is a list of prompts to get you thinking. What do you want to get out of an activity, the best way to achieve that, scales to gauge your comfort level and reflect after it’s occurred. And the other one is a master-list of suggestions of intimate activities you could do with one another. Like I said, it’s not homework Harry, so feel free to do as much or as little as you like. Use them as a loose guide, a source of inspiration, read them and decide to incendio them after, doesn’t matter. It’s for you and Ron, not me. No matter what happens, I look forward to our next discussion, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Emily. I’ll see about giving it a go. See you next week.”

***

Ron apparated outside their front door, removed his boots and was welcomed in by the glorious smell of frying garlic. As he hung up his coat he checked the notice board for any mail that might have missed him at work. There wasn’t any, but there were two sheets of paper stuck haphazardly in the middle of the frame. He examined them for a moment and determined that they were from Harry’s therapist. He shrugged to himself and ventured to the kitchen to find Harry, sure that they would discuss it later.

“I’m home,” Ron announced as he came around the corner, taking in the view of his gorgeous boyfriend. Harry was standing next to the stove top, sleeves pushed up past his elbows and his front covered by an apron that said _I’m A Keeper,_ surrounded by heart-shaped snitches. He looked up at Ron’s entry and broke into a smile.

“Hey! Is a roast alright for dinner? The cream needed to be used by today so I figured I’d do a mash with it.”

“Yeah, sounds perfect,” Ron said as he sat down at the island opposite Harry.

As Harry continued cooking, they caught up on what the other had done throughout the day. After therapy, Harry spent the rest of his day off having some quality time with Teddy. They went down at the local park, looked at some ducks and Teddy played on some of the equipment. Despite being exhausted from chasing after the energetic four year old, Harry also managed to get some much needed marking done afterwards. Ron, on the other hand, had a full on day at the shop with April Fools’ being just around the corner. The benefit of course was a tidy profit, but what Ron valued most was having a few stories of strange or silly customers to entertain Harry. Ron just loved making him laugh. Their talking filled the time and eventually the active part of cooking was done. Harry left the pans to simmer away on the stove and the meat to continue cooking in the oven. Ron took this as his opportunity to get closer to Harry, walking around the bench to stand next to him where he was tidying up.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Ron,” Harry looked up at him, amused.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yep,” Harry popped the ‘p’ sound, twisting around and raising up on his feet slightly to meet Ron. They kissed slowly for a few minutes, unhurried and gentle, Ron’s hands coming to rest at Harry’s waist. Harry wrapped his arms around Ron’s neck, curving closer into him. Harry’s feet soon fell back to the floor and Ron took that as a sign to ease up. They parted with a few brief kisses, after which Harry tucked himself under Ron’s chin, moving Ron’s arms to hold him when he clearly didn’t move fast enough.

Ron chuckled, reaching around to squeeze Harry tightly. Once Harry was satisfied with his cuddle intake he stepped back and resumed the tidying. Ron joined in, using their busy hands as distraction to bring up the worksheets.

“How was therapy, love?”

Sometimes Harry didn’t want to talk about his session, and Ron was used to accepting all sorts of answers. Whether Harry didn’t reply at all, stumbled over his words, or launched into an epic rant about people who had hurt him and contributed to his mental illnesses, Ron was ready for it.

Harry hummed for a bit, weighing up his words and what he wanted to say.

“Good, I think. Did you see the worksheets I put up?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Yeah so. I was talking to Emily about how much I like it when you touched me,” Harry glanced sideways at Ron, seemingly assessing the situation. “But how I also want more? Or rather, need more? And obviously stuff came up,” he gestured vaguely to the side of his head, “about what I think I deserve and am allowed to have and stuff. Still working on that one. But the worksheets, yeah. She said they were ideas about things we could do together to, y’know, help.”

Ron paused. “So. You need me to touch you more?” he asked, trying to keep anything that could be perceived as judgement out of his voice.

“No, I mean. Yeah. But not just touch? It’s about,” he turned to face Ron properly, leaning against the bench, “intimacy. About, like, the vulnerability and trust stuff, not just my general touch-starvedness. The list has prompts.”

“Sweetheart…” Ron had to pause as his eyes became teary. “I love you. So much. And I love being with you. I want to do all that I can to make you happy, and if you need more from me, I’m gonna do it, okay?”

Harry gave a small smile and moved forward to hold Ron’s hands in his.

“Okay,” Harry replied softly, his body swaying unconsciously towards Ron.

“I’m so proud of you for bringing this up, Harry. When do we start?”

**Author's Note:**

> shout out to all my past therapists tbh, especially the one that loved giving me worksheets. 
> 
> if you have any prompts that you'd be interested for me to write comment below! especially aro, ace or non-binary characters in the HP universe. 
> 
> As always if you enjoyed this fic, please let me know! Regardless of when this fic was posted, I read every single comment and would love to hear your thoughts.


End file.
